Inner CV Joints... Replace 'em Both?

[gsmiller]

I have an '02 Boxster S with ~100k miles and basically no service history before I picked it up last summer. One of the inner CV joint boots is torn and I'm planning on replacing the entire joint since they're not that expensive. The other inner joint seems to be fine right now. With no history, and the fact that these joints aren't that expensive, is it worth doing them both? Also, I've seen recommendations to replace the axle assembly instead of just the joint, but that's quite a bit more expensive. Any compelling reasons to spend 10x the money to replace the full assembly instead of just the inner joint? Thanks!

[BYprodriver]

Originally Posted by gsmiller

I have an '02 Boxster S with ~100k miles and basically no service history before I picked it up last summer. One of the inner CV joint boots is torn and I'm planning on replacing the entire joint since they're not that expensive. The other inner joint seems to be fine right now. With no history, and the fact that these joints aren't that expensive, is it worth doing them both? Also, I've seen recommendations to replace the axle assembly instead of just the joint, but that's quite a bit more expensive. Any compelling reasons to spend 10x the money to replace the full assembly instead of just the inner joint? Thanks!

Unless the CVjoints have excessive wear there is zero to be gained by replacing them. You have to remove all the old grease to inspect them, use brake cleaner as the final step in cleaning, you will see polished shiny spots as normal wear but no material removed. I like Redline CV-2 extreme pressure grease.

[gsmiller]

Makes sense. Thanks for the reply.